This week, InSight Crime examined how six illegal economies are putting some of the most important ecosystems in Latin America and the Caribbean at serious risk, intensifying pressure on both land and local communities. From illegal gold mining and drug trafficking to timber, wildlife, and land trafficking, these crimes are interconnected in a criminal web that grows at the expense of the environment. Despite government efforts to combat these activities, the lack of governance in key regions allows armed groups and criminal networks to take advantage of power vacuums to expand, leaving behind mass deforestation, river pollution, and the destruction of unique habitats.
We also explored how the recent launch of Argentina’s first maximum-security prison for drug traffickers and hitmen—located near the city of Rosario, the epicenter of narco-related violence in the country—has reignited the debate over the effectiveness of hardline policies; we analyzed how new internal disputes within the Sinaloa Cartel are redefining the rules of organized crime in Mexico; we reviewed how art and culture have become sophisticated tools for money laundering in Latin America, with criminal organizations and corrupt politicians acquiring valuable works to hide the illicit origin of their profits; and we unpacked how homicide rates have evolved in Latin America over the past decade.
